There’s a lot to boast about in Maine: lobster, northern lights, dark skies, SO many lakes, heaps of local farms, and a whole lot more. 

But did you know that Maine has the oldest certifier of organic farms in the country? It’s the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA). In 1972, MOFGA started the first organic certification program in the country. Maine now has about 500 certified organic farms. 

While here at Maine Organic Beef Co. we primarily focus on raising organic grass fed beef, we love to source ingredients from other certified organic Maine farms. 

•  Organic chicken (they even ship), pork, pet food, etc. Organic Chicken, Turkey, Pork, and Beef from Tide Mill Organic Farm
• Organic milk, eggs, grains, meats, etc. Misty Brook Farm – A Certified Organic Family Farm in Albion, Maine
• Organic cranberries, blueberries, vegetables, etc. Home – Smithereen Farm
• Organic blueberries (delivered to drop off points across the state and beyond) Organic Maine Wild Blueberries | BURKE HILL FARM
• Organic maple syrup Passamaquoddy Maple Syrup
• Organic coffee roasted in Maine 44 North Coffee

Sonja and Steve

Thanks to Kyle, a great appreciator of local meats and vegetables, for sharing his smash burger recipe us!

Serves: 4 smash burgers

Ingredients for Burgers:

• 1# Maine Organic Beef Co. ground beef
• 4 hamburger buns (brioche, kaiser, potato; any will do)
• 4 slices cheddar cheese
• 1/4 head iceberg lettuce
• 1/4 large yellow onion
• 1 tomato

Ingredients for Sauce:

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 2 tsp. white distilled vinegar
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp. soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper

Instructions:

• In a bowl, mix together sauce ingredients. Place in the fridge to cool.
• Prepare your vegetables:
  • Thinly slice lettuce and toss with about 1/2 the burger sauce and place in fridge.
  • Thinly slice onion and set aside.
  • Cut tomato and season with the salt and pepper on both sides.
• Split buns and toast in the oven or in a pan and set aside.
• Split/roll ground beef into 4 – 4-ounce balls.
• Heat a cast iron pan on high heat and coat with some high temp. oil for 3-4 minutes.
• Get a large spatula and grease the back side with cooking oil.
• Place the ground beef ball in the center of the cast iron pan. Then, place a handful of the thinly cut onions on top of the ball (add additional salt and pepper if desired). Press down on the beef making it as thin as possible while staying together.
• Wait 3-4 minutes, then scrape under the patty with a metal spatula and flip.
• Place a slice of cheddar cheese on the patty while it finishes in the pan. 
• Repeat step 3-8 with the remaining beef.
• Assemble your burger, and then add some of the remaining burger sauce to the top of each one.

Sonja and Steve

Here at Maine Organic Beef Co., we’ve decided to sell our halves and whole cows based on hanging weight. 

This is a pretty standard practice, but some farms sell by cut and wrapped weight. This means that the cut and wrapped meat is weighed, and then the customer pays the farmer based on that weight. 

For example, at some farms, you might order a half cow and know that you’ll receive an exact poundage of cut and wrapped meat and a specific number of cuts. 

So, why have we taken the hanging weight approach?

At Maine Organic Beef Co., our goal is to provide a customized experience. We don’t want to provide a “standard” half or whole cow. 

We want you to be able to choose the thickness of your steaks. We want you to be able to choose to have a certain cut sliced for jerky meat. We want you to be able to have some of your beef turned into sausage or hot dogs. We want you to consider trying new cuts. 

There are three things to understand when buying a half or whole cow from Maine Organic Beef Co. (or any animal for that matter; well maybe not a whole chicken:

• Live weight: How much the animal weighed prior to slaughter. This will vary between cows.
• Hanging weight: The weight of the animal after it has been dressed, but before it has been aged, cut, packaged, and frozen. This is roughly 60% of live weight.
• Cut and wrapped weight: The amount of beef that you take home for your freezer. This is roughly 60% of the hanging weight. 

Beeftastically yours,

Sonja and Steve 

One of our customers who recently bought half of a cow generously shared a recipe for bone broth. She went to culinary school and commented that she’s “a throw it in the pot kinda gal; recipes aren’t my jam.”

We’re thankful that despite her intuitive cooking style, she passed along this recipe. A true believer in organics, she recommended using all organic ingredients if possible. 

• 4 pounds assorted beef bones
• 1-2 cans tomato paste
• 3 medium carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
•  1 medium leek, cut into 2-inch pieces (helps to clarify the stock)
• 2 medium onions
• 1 head garlic, peeled
• 6 sprigs thyme
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• 4 celery stalks
• 1 bunch parsley
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tablespoons black peppercorns
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• Dried mushrooms (turkey tail, shiitake, maitake)

Take the bones and smear them with tomato paste. Add vegetables, fresh herbs (except parsley), and garlic and roast in a large shallow pan at 450 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until brown on top. The tomato paste helps to create a deeper, fuller, and richer flavor as well as helping to break down the connective tissue of the bones. 

Put roasted ingredients in a 6-quart stock pot and cover with fresh water. Then add apple cider vinegar, parsley, salt, peppercorns, and bay leaves. Bring to a simmer, not a hard boil. Keep an eye on the amount of water. The ingredients need to stay submerged, so you’ll likely add water as the broth simmers.

Simmer for 12-24 hours. Whatever time you choose, the rule of thumb is to stop adding additional water about 2 hours prior to your finish. The longer the stock simmers, the more goodness you’ll extract and the more flavorful it will be. 

Once it’s at a point where you’re happy with it salt and pepper to taste and then strain. It can be used right away or frozen for future use. 

Beeftastically yours,

Sonja

Image provided by: https://www.vecteezy.com/free-photos/beef-broth”>Beef Broth Stock photos by Vecteezy</a

How many times have you heard this expression: You are what you eat? Here’s another question though: What exactly does “you are what you eat” mean?

A while back I wrote this article for a farming publication called The Country Folks: Using metabolomics to look at finished beef – Country Folks

The gist of the article is that scientists are becoming more interested about what kinds of nutrients there are in grass fed beef versus beef raised on grain. Beyond that, the researcher I wrote about is particularly interested in the connection between soil health, pasture and hay health, cattle health, and ultimately human health.

I learned about a research project the scientist was conducting and decided to jump on board. Basically, the researchers are trying to find some evidence to support this “you are what you eat” idea by testing different beef samples across the United States.

Last fall, we collected soil samples, pasture samples, manure samples and sent them off in the mail. We also had to send a few ribeye steaks. LOTS of scienc-y things were done with the samples in the lab.

Many months later, we finally got some results; I guess all that mass spectrometry is slow business. The results we got back primarily have to do with the content of our meat, including the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio.

According to a 2021 article in the Journal of the Missouri State Medical Association, “Up until about 100 years ago, the omega-6/3 ratio has been around 4:1 or less. However, the typical Western diet now provides an omega-6/3 ratio of 20:1 in favor of omega-6.”

The article goes on to state that the high ratio of omega-6/3 plays a role in inflammation, allergies, and autoimmune reactions.

Okay, so why I am telling you all this?

One of the things of our meat was tested for was our omega-6/3 ratio. I’ve always had a sneaking suspicion that our ratio was low, but now I HAVE PROOF!

Ours was 2:1 !!!! The cows in the study that were grain fed had an average ratio of 5:1.

So, if you put any steak (ha, ha) in that old adage “you are what you eat,” Maine Organic Beef Co. has got you covered!!!

Beeftastically yours,

Sonja